Waterfall Mist Honeybush Tea, a relatively Plum Deluxe blend made of honeybush, orange peels, and peppermint. Now I am familiar with this brand but have never personally ordered from them and when I came across this sample in a traveling teabox, I was intrigued.
Since the sample was generous, I decided to experiment with this tea though all cups were steeped in 200 degree water for 3 minutes.
First, I brewed it hot, my typical go-to method for all new teas. The hot cup tastes first and foremost of mint. Cooling peppermint, in fact. Honeybush is the next thing I pick up, tasting a sweetness typical of this base but also a slight wood note. Finally, if I focus, I can catch a bit of orange pithiness here and there but mostly it is drowned out by the other ingredients.
Next, given the summery and cool flavors of orange and mint, I thought this would make for a nice iced tea. Giving it a try now, I can say mint is still the most prominent note but it is certainly toned down when compared to the hot cup. That allows for some more bright orange/citrus flavors to come through. The base is also more subtle in the iced tea, though still contributing its trademark honeybush sweetness.
Finally, as per the recommendation on the packaging, I made a second iced tea and added a splash of lemonade. Since this was my first time adding lemonade to tea, I was excited to see how it would turn out but if I am being honest, I am not a fan. The lemonade makes the tea flatter, or I suppose it weighs it down making for a thicker mouthfeel that is less refreshing and more heavy. Plus, while I was hoping for some zing from the lemonade to pull out the orange in the tea, it was no where to be found. The lemonade lost its usual tartness while the tea lost most of its flavoring besides mint. Combined with the lemonade though, that mint is more medicinal than in the other two cups. To me, it seems the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Perhaps my “splash” of lemonade was more than what Plum Deluxe had in mind?
Ultimately, this was an alright cup of tea. Well cups, I suppose. Nothing mindblowing but still quite solid. I think it is best iced and can see it being a delightful companion on a hot and humid day.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
First featured in July 2016, the Waterfall Mist is an gentle, exacting combination of orange and mint. This tea has a similar feeling of refreshing simplicity. Enjoy it iced, as a sangria infusion, with a splash of lemonade, or frozen into tea popsicle!
All Organic ingredients. Honeybush Tea, Orange Peel, Peppermint. No caffeine. Steep 1 tsp in boiling water 3-5 minutes or cold brew overnight.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Blissful Buds from Mellow Monk . . . .
Tea has become more of a mindfulness exercise for me lately, rather than simply a means to caffeination. I reverently begin this tasting by getting on the level with the loose, green grinds. Dry leaves are sweet-smelling like a japanese tea. They tease me with something that almost smells of raspberry, though I know there is none in this blend.
After brewing the tea leaves got much lighter in color and presented a cloudy olive-green infusion with lots of tiny stowaways from the gravity brewer into my cup.
I cannot stress enough, as with all green and white teas, watch your temperature or you will be drinking something akin to Satan’s bath water (to put it nicely).
I started off with my usual 175F for 2 min but was caught off guard by the bitter chemical type taste. I’d overbrewed it, serious bummer. The leaves were ruined and I’d have to start again from scratch. My second try was with half the steep time. Better tasting, but still a tannic nirvana (different from Darjeeling though). Not my cup of tea. You know those monks are seriously being tested when they drink a tea this strong all day. It for sure keeps them awake in church! I certainly couldn’t keep a vow of silence after drinking it.
As proud as I am of my scientific problem solving approach, I should’ve just read the package instructions. At 160F and right around a minute brew time, the third try was a charm. This delicate leaf brews strong! Tangy still, with a long lingering pucker-worthy aftertaste. But much more palatable than Satan’s bathwater. Upon resteeping, it was a much different flavor because a bit more of the sweetness came out.
This blend is described as sweet like other Japanese teas but that was not my experience, even with a cold brew attempt. But on a good note, I learned my lesson about reading the package instructions. Thank you monks!
Here’s the scoop!
Type of Tea: Green
Where to Buy: Mellow Monk
Description:
Blissful Buds™ is made by picking the small young buds at the pinnacle of the tea plant — the leaves richest in catechins. These tender leaves yield a refreshingly sweet infusion, redolent of apples, with berry-like tangy overtones and much less astringency than conventional senchas. This type of tea is also served at the end of a meal at fine Japanese restaurants. (In sushi lingo, this type of tea is referred to as agari.)
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Caramel from Fava Tea. . . . .
Although this tea may sound simple, green tea and caramel flavor, it is actually quite complex! Not only does this blend include sencha green tea, but it also includes genmaicha, which is green tea and toasted/popped rice! Along with the green tea there is rooibos, cocoa pieces, caramel pieces, pineapple cubes, almond pieces, and marigold blossoms! Isn’t that quite a medley? Names can be deceiving and I am glad that I read the ingredient list because honestly it sounds delicious.
And it is delicious! The green teas are toasty, nutty, smooth and vegetal. The rooibos adds a little bit of an extra nuttiness. The cocoa pieces are there, but just barely gives a small hint of cocoa. The caramel is of course smooth and sweet and creamy. The almond adds to the nuttiness! All of them together create a yummy, healthy, and energizing blend that is reminiscent of caramel popcorn sprinkled with almonds and cocoa powder! I really enjoyed it.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Fava Tea
Description
Find gold at the end of every sip with this sweet and toasty blend of caramels and green tea. Creamy and perfect!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Drunken Concubine from Silk Road Tea. . . . .
This top-shelf variant of Iron Goddess (Tie Guan Ying) oolong is named after the Beijing opera story where a concubine gets shwasted after she’s stood up by the king. Based on the name alone, I’m not sure which way this will go from the baseline floral taste of a lesser quality iron goddess – will the tea be a sharp bitter taste reminiscent of heartbreak, or a sweet balm to heal her sorrows?
The dry leaves have fabulous scent, reminding me of the elusive white gummy bears flavor.
After brewing “3-5 grams for under 2 minutes”, the brew is quickly a deep ochre yellow. A delicate purple orchid wafted up from the full, fluffy leaves along with the familiar umami butter of oxidized teas. It should be noted this teas flavor is due to slight oxidation as it grows – leaf hoppers bite a bit and start the process as it’s still growing. Which means there’s an absence of pesticides – win!
Everything about this tea so far is flat out sexy. Yep, sexy tea, I took it too far with the concubine reference…Moving on.
One thing I love about Oolong teas is their incredible resteep value. In this particular case, the royal fragrance gives way to a complex nectar of smoke in later brews. I’m at least 5 steeps in and the flavor just keeps evolving. This is FANTASTIC! Perfect to drink all day. Definitely the heart mending tea from my predictions earlier. A great escape for someone whose thoughts are clouded with an ominous heartache.
My first go with this tea, I over brewed it. Fortunately it was forgiving…maybe the tea is telling me something? When I brewed it with more care, it was simply magical. This is exactly the pick-me-up tea I needed this week.
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: Silk Road Teas
Description:
Drunken Concubine is named in recognition of the intoxicating flavors of a wonderful, high-grade Tieguanyin oolong. One will note the highly aromatic fragrance of the leaves. In the first steep, as the leaves begin to unfurl, delicious, flavorful notes build. This tea is bright, clean, fresh and orchid-like – all classic flavors of this high-grade, prized lo-oxidized oolong. Each season, we select a lot of this varietal from our tea maker that we believe is the finest of the harvest. We are proud to offer our latest lot of Drunken Concubine. This is a rare taste offering, high-grade oolong, much prized in China.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Kukicha Green Tea by Aiya America
Steeping specs: 3 g 1 cup 175° 1.5 minutes
This one was a tea that I could not find on the company’s website, so please forgive me if I don’t steep it according to the ideal specifications. I kind of guessed a bit and I hope I didn’t steep it too hot. It turned out pretty well with the steeping specs I tried, but who knows what would happen with different steeping specs? (I didn’t have a large enough sample to really experiment.)
As it steeps I’m catching buttery, seaweedy fragrances. After steeping, the liquid isn’t nearly as clear as I would’ve expected. It’s cloudy and has what look like tiny T specks throughout the liquid, similar to matcha specks (?) and much smaller than the type of tea specks that normally escape from my tea strainer. So I’m thinking maybe this is an intentional feature of this tea and not a bug. It doesn’t seem to detract from the drinking experience at all and does enhance the tea’s strength.
The flavor is rich and full, with vegetal savory notes, not bitter, and only a little astringent. And it’s very fragrant, but not really floral– it’s more on the grassy side. Its flavor is not just vegetal, but savory in a smooth and buttery kind of way which creates a cohesive flavor profile.
This seems to be quite a strong green tea with plenty of flavor, yet without any unpleasant bitterness. It goes well with sugar too, but seems to be a somewhat less immersive experience somehow once the sugar has been added. Also, I notice the seaweedy notes more once sugar has been added.
This tea is great for when you want a strong, unflavored and non-floral green tea that’s more on the savory side and yet has a very strong presence of its own without any bitterness. (If you don’t like the tiny specks floating around your tea, I would recommend using a very fine steeping mesh or strainer.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Aiya
Description
Kukicha literally means “stem tea” and is made from different varieties of tea stems. Aiya’s Kukicha is a blend of stems from Gyokuro and Sencha. Most of Kukicha available in the market is made by stems from 100% Sencha, however, Aiya’s Kukicha is adding more than 50% of Gyokuro stems for more natural sweetness and rich aroma
